Scrap Blogging, Anyone?

I have found yet another new internet addiction! Scrapblogs! Check out a few of my creations:







More over at my scrapblog. I'm telling you, it's crazy addicting and fun!

Send Me On A Photo Scavenger Hunt!

A fun photo "meme" I thought I would try!

Leave me a comment, and tell me 1 to 3 things you would like me to take a photo of. It can be anything. A place, person, thing, concept, color... whatever.

I will do my best to take all the photos with either my digi camera or my new lomo fisheye camera, and post them here.

Then post this, if you want, on your blog and let people tell you what photos to take.

This could be a lot of fun!!

Lomography

As part of my photography obsession, I've been really interested in this concept of lomography. What is lomography?

Check out This Site and This SIte.

I love traditional photography, don't get me wrong. I also love this idea of something a little more... conceptual, creative, artistic, different, real, raw.

I am trying to win a Diana Camera on ebay.

My favorite quotes about the Diana camera, copy and pasted from various sources:

"As a cult artistic tool of avant-garde and lo-fi photographers, it was a rousing success! They loved its soft & dreamy images, super-saturated colors, unpredictable blurring, and random contrast. Diana shots are raw & gritty, with a character all their own. They simply cannot be duplicated by any other camera on Earth! In short order, the Diana rose to prominence as one of the most treasured and sought-after cult analog cameras from the late 70's onward."

"How could you not absolutely love its lo-fi masterpiece photos? Something this beautiful, this classic, and this crucial to the world of analog photography shouldn't have suffered such an early demise. And since we had the means, the knowledge, and the opportunity to rebuild the Diana from the ground up (with a few extras tossed in) - the Lomography Diana+ was born in 2007. The Diana's original charms (radiant color-dripping lens, soft-focus surprises, all-plastic body, dead-simple shutter) were expertly duplicated to provide the authentic look n' feel of the original. On top of that, brand new Pinhole & Endless Panorama features were added into the mix – thereby paving the way for an entirely new class of Diana images and techniques!"

"With each click of the shutter, a moment is captured in a unique and fairly unpredictable way—and a small narrative begins to reveal itself. As the viewer, you're invited to read into it and interpret it in your own way. On top of that, you can count yourself as an individual note in the Diana's illustrious history - which dates back to the better part of 40 years."

The Diana uses 120 film, which we sell where I work. I can also process the 120 film, turning the film into negatives... I just did this for someone yesterday actually. However, the negatives need to be sent out to be developed into actual prints.

There's even a Diana Flickr Group.

Does this obsession of mine have no limits??

My Vintage and Antique Camera Collection

Check out all the photos of my collection HERE.

Great Photography Websites and Books

Today I'd like to share with you some great links and books for learning photography. These are the websites I've been visiting and the books I've been reading.

Some of the books are slightly outdated, because I bought them cheap the half priced book store... but the basics remain the same, as far as learning about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, composition, etc.

Also, a few magazines I've been buying.

I can't wait to get my camera, So I can finally put some of this info to use!!!

First, the links:

PhotonHead.com has a ton of useful information, my very favorite being the Digital Camera Simulator which is very useful in helping to learn about the effects of shutter speed, aperture, and camera shake. You can mess with the settings and "shoot" the photo to see how it turns out.

This isn't going to as helpful as actually doing this yourself with a real camera, but it's still really cool.

Next up, KenRockwell.com is a great site. I'm not so sure I necessarily like the style he uses in his photography, but that's a personal preference and says nothing about his skills. He's great. Plus, he is a Nikon fan, in particular the D40, so this earns him major brownie points from me!

My very, very favorite, Digital Photography School. This. Site. Rocks. The tutorials, tips, guides, etc. are amazing and easy to understand. Soooo much info, all very useful and helpful. Plus, there's a forum that rocks, weekly assignments, and much more. I've gotten the most from this site. Love it!!!!!

A few others include all the amazing groups you can find on Flickr, The photography forum at DeviantArt, and even something as simple as checking out the ratings on photos at Good Shot or Not.

Now, onto the books. I'm not going to get into detail here, a lot of the info found in each book is take it or leave it... some very helpful info, and a few outdated and pointless things, either way... not too bad.

The Digital Camera Handbook

Digital Photography Problem Solver

My newest book is wonderful: Magic Lantern Guides: Nikon D40. I probably like this one the best because it is new, and it is camera specific.

My favorite photography magazines include Photography Monthly and ShutterBug.

So, there ya go. For those interested in learning as much as you can, like I am trying to do... this should help! It's really been helping me.

On a final note, I want One of these Lenbabies Lenses. Heh.

News!

I'm becoming a bad blogger again. That's ok though, because I'm enjoying time with my family and working...

I have exciting and terrific news. I'm getting my camera!!!! The perfect starter dslr, the Nikon D40. Isn't it beautiful:



Hopefully, if the deal at work is still going on, I am also getting a cool bag and a second zoom lens.

I love the people I work with. Love them. This one guy, Chuck, is a professional photographer... he does everything. Weddings, portraits, you name it. He even has his own studio. He really liked my work so far, and he's going to have me "shadow" him to learn the ropes of professional photography. He also teaches digital photogrpahy classes.

Speaking of which, I am taking photography classes as soon as the next session starts.

So, the ball is rolling. I can't wait! Can you tell I'm excited??? :)